1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hinge assembly adapted for use with a housing having a sub-body positioned on a main body at an adjustable angle and, more particularly, to a hinge assembly adapted for use with a housing, the hinge assembly increasing the accuracy of an angle adjustment and increasing its strength by improving a structure for rotating the sub-body. The present invention also relates to a housing having such a hinge assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in devices such as a telephone (for example, a key-phone terminal), a printer, etc., a liquid crystal display (hereinafter referred to as an “LCD”) is used to display an operation mode or an operation state of the device as a user presses a button, etc. of the device.
The LCD is designed to allow its angle with respect to a main body of the device housing to be adjusted, thereby facilitating convenience of its use.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,903, entitled “Hinge Device,” issued on Sep. 16, 2003, relates to an angle adjustment device of an LCD. The patent recites a foldable appliance which comprises a main body, an openable sub-body positioned on the main body and a hinge device for hinging the sub-body to the main body, the hinge device comprising: a hinge shaft having one end mounted to the sub-body and the other end mounted to the main body, wherein the one end is movably fixed together with the sub-body, and the other end partially passes through the main body to run at idle; a fixed disk, penetrated by the other end of the hinge shaft and fixed to the main body, having at least one notch and at least one protrusion continued from the notch, on an opposite surface of a surface contacted with the main body; a movable disk penetrated by the other end of the hinge shaft, surface contacted with the fixed disk, and positioned to rotate together with the hinge shaft, the movable disk having at least one protrusion extending from a surface contacted with the fixed disk; elastic means positioned to axially press the movable disk; and fixing means for fixing the fixed disk, the movable disk and the elastic means penetrated by the hinge shaft.
However, such a hinge device has a problem in that its structure is very complex and manufacture and assembly thereof are very costly.
Furthermore, when the sub-body is maintained at a predetermined angle by a friction force of the disk, the hinge assembly has another problem in that the sub-body can move when the friction force is weak, and alternatively, a high force is required to move the main body when the friction force has been increased to prevent the sub-body from moving.
In addition, the hinge assembly has still another problem in that a spring back phenomenon occurs when the sub-body is rotated due to the friction force of the disk.
The following patents each discloses features in common with the present invention but do not teach or suggest the inventive features specifically recited in the present application: U.S. Pat. No. 5,187,743 to Gumb et al., entitled TELEPHONE BASE WITH A DISPLAY UNIT, issued on Feb. 16, 1993; U.S. Pat. No. 6,351,535 to Nogas et al., entitled VARIABLE ANGLE MECHANISM FOR DESKTOP TELEPHONE, issued on Feb. 26, 2002; U.S. Pat. No. 6,088,447 to Aggus et al., entitled TELEPHONE BASE INCLUDING VISUAL DISPLAY MODULE, issued on Jul. 11, 2000; U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,297 to Kingsbury et al., entitled INTERCONNECTION MECHANISM FOR A TILTABLE TELEPHONE DISPLAY UNIT, issued on Jun. 2, 1998; U.S. Pat. No. 6,445,793 to Vassallo et al., entitled ADJUSTABLE TELEPHONE SYSTEM AND METHOD, issued on Sep. 3, 2002; U.S. patent application No. 2003/0221288 to Kim et al., entitled HINGE ASSEMBLY FOR A FLAT DISPLAY MONITOR published on Dec. 4, 2003; U.S. patent application No. 2002/0092129 to Brewington et al., entitled TILT HINGE, published on Jul. 18, 2002; and U.S. patent application No. 2003/0163900 to Rude et al., entitled POP-UP FRICTION HINGE HAVING MULTIPLE LE VELS OF TORQUE, published on Sep. 4, 2003.